Doug Banks
Vice President, Finance

Doug Banks is seconded to ATB Financial’s CORE Transformation Initiative where he leads the team implementing the new SAP Bank Analyzer together with the SAP General Ledger and related modules, including related data conversion, testing, business transformation and organizational readiness efforts. He also serves as one of four enterprise business process owners and is a member of the CORE Executive Implementation Team.

Following completion of the CORE project, Doug will lead ATB Financial’s newly-created Finance Operations group, which will include the controller’s functions, financial planning and analysis, management reporting and business process management for the finance stream.

Doug has been with ATB Financial since 2004 and previously served as Corporate Controller, where he managed all external financial reporting for ATB, managed the operations of the Corporate Accounting and Accounts Payable groups and oversaw internal controls over financial reporting.

Prior to joining ATB, Doug served as interim Director of Finance for Lilydale Foods. He also spent time in Bermuda, acting as Chief Financial Officer of a U.S. SEC-registered investment firm and as an Audit Manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers where he led the audits of Canadian and offshore mutual funds, international pension funds and investment operations of multinational companies and reinsurance companies. Doug moved offshore after articling with KPMG in Edmonton.

Doug earned Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) degrees at the University of Alberta and is both a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Financial Analyst. In his spare time, Doug enjoys reading, camping, travelling and is an avid hockey and football fan.

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Ray Wells
Vice President, Retail Credit

Ray Wells is responsible for the team that handles credit risk and adjudication of all consumer credit lending and independent business lending under $250,000.

Ray re-joined ATB Financial in 1994, after 25 years of banking experience at other financial institutions in branch management roles and corporate credit positions. He has spent the past 12 years in Corporate Credit, moving to his current role in June 2006.

Ray Wells completed the Institute of Canadian Bankers Business Administration program with honours and completed coursework in securities, mutual funds, legal, and numerous additional courses in risk management through the University of Alberta School of Business.

Ray is an active volunteer canvasser for a variety of charities within his community of Devon and a strong supporter of the work accomplished by the United Way of Edmonton.

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Michael Redeker
Vice President and Chief Technology Officer

Mike is responsible for providing information technology leadership in computing operations, security, architecture, communications networks, and disaster recovery for IT services as well as corporate project management implementation and tracking to all business units.

Michael joined ATB Financial in May 2007 after spending 11 years with IBM Canada, focused on delivering quality information technology services within the financial services industry.    

Born in Edmonton, Michael has worked in cities across Canada including Vancouver, Toronto, Regina and Calgary.  Michael is a graduate from Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.

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Ken Casey
Executive Vice President, Major Initiatives

Ken Casey leads the team responsible for directing enterprise business and technical initiatives designed to improve efficiency, agility and effectiveness. Currently, Ken heads up a team responsible for replacing ATB’s core banking system. His team includes not only ATB associates seconded to work on Core but also representatives of SAP and Accenture, ATB's partners on the Core initiative.

Ken has been employed in financial services since 1972. Before joining ATB Financial in 1996, he gained experience with both Canadian and foreign-owned chartered banks, as well as a trust company.

Ken currently sits on the board of The Canadian Payments Association. Ken is a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers and holds degrees in Political Science and Economics from the University of Calgary. As an active volunteer with Junior Achievement, Ken sits on the board for the Northern Alberta chapter.

Jay Hamblin
Vice President, Asset Management Jay Hamblin is responsible for Asset Management, a group that provides professional management of ATB's high risk and impaired loans portfolio with emphasis on maximizing recoveries and ultimately enhancing ATB's profitability.

Jay joined ATB Financial in 1980, after establishing himself in the banking industry with the Bank of Montreal. He has held various leadership positions during his 28 years with ATB, including: Vice President Commercial Banking, Regional Vice President Edmonton South Region, and Branch Manager in several branches. Prior to ATB Financial, Jay spent seven years with Bank of Montreal.

Jay has his FICB designation (Fellows of the Institute of Canadian Bankers).

Stef Schiedon
Vice President, Facilities, Real Estate and Procurement

Stef leads the Facilities, Real Estate and Procurement team, responsible for developing and implementing plans for branches, all of ATB's facilities, and for procuring various products purchased across the organization.

Stef's team is responsible for ensuring that all ATB associates have the space and resources necessary to function and effectively serve our customers. He provides the strategic and tactical direction needed to manage our portfolio of owned and leased real estate, our corporate-wide facilities management support services, as well as our procurement systems.

To stay fit and involved in his community, Stef is an active rower and volunteer rowing coach. Originally from the Netherlands, Stef has created a new home with his family on their Alberta acreage.

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Bob Mann
Chief Risk Officer

Bob and his team are responsible for all aspects of risk management across the organization, including assessment of portfolio risk, decision support and loan adjudication, operational risk, compliance and privacy. These include all policy issues as they relate to risk, loan collection and recovery activities, and compliance. Bob also oversees ATB's Internal Audit team.

Bob joined ATB Financial in 1975 and has held numerous branch management and corporate office positions since then. He most recently held the position of Executive Vice President, Credit, from 1997 to 2008.

Bob holds an Associate Diploma from Medicine Hat College's Bachelor of Commerce Program. He has also completed numerous banking-related courses, including courses from ATB's Agricultural Lending Program and the Canadian Institute of Bankers Professional Banking Program.

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Stuart McKellar
Vice President, Legal & Corporate Secretary

Stuart McKellar leads the Legal Services department, a creative team that employs good business sense and judgment to identify legal risk and implement appropriate strategies. Stuart also provides corporate secretary support to the ATB Board of Directors and to the Investor Services subsidiaries of ATB.

Stuart joined ATB in 1997, after seven years in private practice with a respected local law firm. Stuart has held various positions with Legal Services and he truly enjoys the opportunity to represent ATB's interests.

Stuart earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Calgary and his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Alberta. He is a member of the Law Society of Alberta, the Canadian Bar Association, and the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association. Stuart proudly serves as a Director of the Christmas Bureau of Edmonton, chairing the Governance and Strategic Planning Committee.

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Dwayne Mann
Senior Vice President, Credit Dwayne leads a team responsible for all credit and risk approval functions at ATB Financial, including decision support and loan adjudication, all policy issues as they relate to credit risk, the maintenance of ATB's risk rating and scoring systems, as well as all loan collection and recovery activities. His team also pursues new opportunities to build on its expertise and expand business in small business and agriculture, investment capital for selected commodity-based sectors, and real estate lending.

Dwayne was born and raised in Ontario but is enthusiastic about being based in Calgary, a city he fell in love with before he came to ATB Financial. After achieving his MBA from University of Western Ontario, Dwayne wanted to combine his interest in finance with the ability to interact with people. Banking was the perfect fit.

Recently Dwayne completed several industry-specific courses to enhance his knowledge of derivatives, portfolio theory and asset/liability management.

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Ian is responsible for the Corporate Financial Services portfolios. He and his team are charged with ensuring ATB Financial has a strong market share that reflects the needs of Albertans.

Prior to his immigration to Canada, he worked for National Westminster Bank Ltd., International Division in London, U.K., where he held positions in international credit, corporate finance and trade finance.

As a volunteer, Ian is heavily involved with his children's school. He is also a member of the Chairman's Circle of SAIT, an advisory group that provides direction on the institution's overall educational plan and goals.

top of page...Oil & Gas Banking.

Ian brings to ATB 25 years of banking experience from RBC Capital Markets, where he was Vice President, Investment Banking.

His tenure of 16 years at Royal Bank Financial Group included the role of
Vice President - Corporate Banking, Calgary, and
 senior account management roles in Oil & Gas Banking.


Ian is responsible for the Corporate Financial Services portfolio

Ian Wild
Executive Vice President, Corporate Financial Services

Ian is a Member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of the United Kingdom.

Jim McKillop
Chief Financial Officer As Chief Financial Officer, Jim is responsible for leading a group of internal service providers and providing overall financial management processes for the organization. These include finance, treasury, facilities and real estate, legal services, and central administration. Jim also serves as a director of four ATB subsidiaries: ATB Investment Services Inc., ATB Investment Management Inc., ATB Securities Inc., and ATB Insurance Advisors Inc.

Prior to joining ATB Financial, Jim served as VP of Finance and CFO for Lilydale Foods. He also spent two years in Prague, Czech Republic, as Controller for a wireless phone company, as well as nine years with both the Telus Corporation and Echo Bay Mines in various capacities.

Jim graduated from the University of Alberta with a degree in Business Administration and Commerce. He is also a chartered accountant.

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Curtis Stange
Executive Vice President
23 years with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
led 2,000 employees and was accountable for 800,000 clients.



 Once included as part of Retail Financial Services, Independent Business and Agriculture is now a standalone line of business for ATB Financial. As Executive Vice President, Curtis is responsible for creating ATB's overall approach to Independent Business and Agriculture. He will work towards creating a synergy between ATB's branches, credit department, Corporate Financial Services and Investor Services to deliver the best possible customer and associate experience.

Prior to joining ATB, Curtis spent 23 years with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, most recently as Vice President, Retail Markets for Alberta where he led 2,000 employees and was accountable for 800,000 clients.

Curtis earned an agriculture diploma from the University of Saskatchewan, along with a management diploma and an MBA from Athabasca University. He also has a strong commitment to his community. Curtis has served on a number of boards including the Campaign Cabinet for the United Way in Calgary, Computers for Schools Canada, a non-profit organization that refurbishes computers and distributes them to schools and libraries, and the Prairies executive committee for the Canadian Bankers Association.

Curtis resides near Calgary with his wife and two sons. He enjoys dirt biking, golf and any other outdoor activity.

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Peter Freilinger
Senior Vice President/Treasurer Peter leads a team that helps ATB Financial's business leaders create better products and services for their customers, while ensuring ATB's balance sheet can withstand the challenges of today's financial markets. He is also creating a sophisticated set of capital management and interest rate tools to allow ATB to grow along with its customers' needs.

Prior to joining ATB, Peter spent 15 years working with some of the largest financial institutions in the United States, including five years as Senior Vice President/Assistant Treasurer, Group Treasury with Washington Mutual in Seattle. He has also held senior positions with JPMorgan Securities in New York and Barclays Global Investors in San Francisco.

Peter also volunteers his time with the Financial Services Volunteer Corps, an organization that offers advice and training to financial regulators in emerging countries. Peter’s volunteer work has taken him to the Balkans, Albania, Morocco and Egypt.

A native of Portland, Maine, Peter is an avid golfer and sports fan. He enjoys spending time with his wife Jocelyn and dog Gordy.

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OTTAWA — A secret government report on cyberattacks says that 86 per cent of large Canadian corporations have been "hit" and that espionage hacking on the private sector has doubled in two years.



"Cyberespionage attacks are causing considerable economic damage," says the 2010 "threat paper," released to Postmedia News through access-to-information laws.



The heavily redacted report was prepared by the Public Safety Department with input from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Defence Department, the RCMP and the Privy Council Office.



Cybersecurity expert Rafai Rohozinksi said that vast jump in businesses infiltrated by cyberhackers is "not surprising at all and, in fact, it's highly worrisome."



Read more: http://www.canada.com/news/Cyberattacks+have+most+large+Canadian+firms+report+says/3873786/story.html#ixzz169NRFz8a

 Sgt. Patrick Webb

“Once the assessment phase is over then we determine if there is reason for a criminal investigation and open a file,” he says, adding that the standard of proof required for a criminal investigation is higher than in a civil matter.

He said the RCMP is not always able to use information gathered through civil investigative processes and would have to gather its own evidence. Just as the BMO accountants spent years investigating the fraud, Webb said it could take years to bring a criminal case to court. He said once a criminal investigation has started, the RCMP would not comment further on the case.

Joseph McCool
Would you believe you could make 10% per month guaranteed? This serial Ponzi-scheme operator's last scheme swindled at least $10 million from investors with promises of European strategies and high rates of return through his Mesa, Ariz., outfit Brixon Group. He assured victims that their principal was insured by the state of California.

Of course there was no insurance or investment strategy, and McCool used new investor funds for his personal use and to meet interest payments. For a while McCool told investors money was tied up in Europe because of the Patriot Act, but by 2006 the feds charged him with fraud. It was his second confrontation with the law: In 1997 McCool pleaded guilty to helping run a Ponzi scheme and was sentenced to 35 months in a prison camp. McCool's partner in the Brixon scheme, Donald Manning, was caught in February by Nicaraguan police as he attempted to cross into Costa Rica. Another crony, Cameron Campbell, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 63 months in the pokey. But McCool, 60, has been long gone and was last believed to be in the Philippines.
http://anyten.blogspot.com/2010/07/10-worlds-most-wanted-white-collar.html

There are no wounds that show on the outside, but on the inside, some people certainly have been crippled," said Staff-Sgt. Dale Glydon of Calgary RCMP commercial crime section.




 A Ponzi scheme is a type of fraud in which early investors receive returns paid for by later investors, with little or no actual commercial activity taking place.

Police say the alleged scheme worked through a company called HMS Financial, which allegedly offered people investment vehicles that promised to pay between eight and 12 per cent return without any financial risk. They say it collapsed in 2004.

HMS Financial has also been the subject of an ongoing civil lawsuit since 2005.

A statement of claim from that class-action lawsuit charges that prospective investors were offered shares in a private investment corporation that was funding major construction projects around the world. The statement, which has not been proven in court, says investors were told their money was secured by bonds and cash held by one of the HMS principals.

"There do not appear to have been any material projects worldwide that were ever funded by the monies of the Plaintiff," the statement of claim alleges.

The defendants in that civil suit, who include the four who were criminally charged Monday, have denied the allegations in their own court filings.

Glydon said many investors came on board through well-meaning advice from friends or family who may have been investors themselves.

"We did see clusters of friends and families and clusters of people who belong to community groups and church groups who would have learned about the program through each other," Glydon said.

"When the program fails to pay, it causes divisions in families and groups and friendships."

Glydon said investigators spoke with many investors who now rent their homes instead of own them, who will have to work long past when they'd planned to retire, or who lost their nest egg.

There is little chance investors will be able to recoup their cash, said Glydon.

"There is no treasure chest. The majority of the money that comes in is used to pay other investors, so it kind of cycles around.

"There is no large pool of money sitting anywhere in this case that is available to repatriate."

Investigating the case took sorting through thousands of pages of documents, trying to reconstruct a paper trail that wound its way through both Canada and the U.S.

"Thousands and thousands of investigative hours just putting the records straight, finding the appropriate witnesses and lining the witnesses up with the relevant documents," Glydon said.

Murray Stark, 73, of Three Hills, Alberta; Robert Fyn, 62, of Linden, Alberta; and Garth Bailey, 57, of Okotoks are charged with fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. All three, as well as Katherine Bailey, 53, of Okotoks, also face money-laundering charges.

The four will appear in provincial court in Drumheller, Alberta, on April 16.http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100329/ponzi_charges_100329/20100329?hub=Canada

Ponzi Scheme: 01-21-09 Donald Manning, Brixon Group Guilty Posted on January 21, 2009 by alaskakid| Leave a comment United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt announced that Donald Manning pled guilty today to conspiracy and wire fraud charges in U.S. District Court in San Diego before the Honorable Barry Ted Moskowitz. According to Assistant United States Attorneys William Cole and John Owens, who are prosecuting the case, Manning was the President of a Ponzi scheme called the “Brixon Group.” Along with coconspirators Joseph Wayne McCool and Cameron Campbell, Manning recruited retirees and members of his own family to invest millions of dollars in the Brixon Group.

Manning told investors that the Brixon Group guaranteed large, guaranteed returns and that the investments were risk free. Manning also told investors that part of their investment would go toward humanitarian efforts overseas and that co-defendant McCool was a banking expert who, prior to working with Brixon, had successfully managed a large private trust in Europe. As part of his guilty plea, Manning admitted that he and his coconspirators, in fact, intentionally concealed from investors that most of the money invested in Brixon would not be placed into investments and that new funds received from investors would be used to make payments to earlier investors. Manning further admitted that, through the Brixon scheme, he and his coconspirators converted much of the investors’ money to their own personal use.

Both the United States Attorney’s Office and the FBI acknowledged the assistance of the Arizona Corporation Commission in the investigation. Manning’s co-defendant, Cameron Campbell, previously pleaded guilty and is currently serving a 63- month sentence in federal prison. Law enforcement continues to seek the public’s assistance in locating Joseph Wayne McCool, whose whereabouts are currently unknown. Sentencing for Manning is scheduled for April 15, 2009 at 10:30 a.m., before Judge Moskowitz.

DEFENDANT Case No. 06-CR-1021-BTM
Donald Manning

SUMMARY OF CHARGES
One Count – Title 18, United States Code, Section 371 – Conspiracy to Commit Offenses Against the U.S.
Maximum penalties: 5 years in prison, $250,000 fine, and restitution.
One Count – Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343 – Wire Fraud
Maximum penalties: 5 years in prison, $250,000 fine, and restitution.

PARTICIPATING AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Arizona Corporation Commission

http://alaskakid.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/ponzi-scheme-01-21-09-donald-manning-brixon-group-guilty/

* No economic basis for the transaction

* No credible explanation of how it can generate the returns

* Promised returns are disproportionate to the risk

* The nature of the transaction is obscure

* Returns are made from a mysterious, secretive banking instruments

* Non-disclosure agreements are common

* PBIs are clouded in gratuitous complexity and confusion



Extraordinary claims should sound alarm $(function() { $(".email-article-link").fancybox({ width: 400, height: 350, overlayOpacity: .7, titleShow: false, type: 'iframe' }); }); Investigation has put Alberta town of Linden on map By Brock Ketcham - For Business Edge
Published: 06/23/2005 - Vol. 5, No. 25

The get-rich plan, which operated out of an office in Linden, about 60 kilometres northeast of Calgary, harvested millions of dollars from investors throughout North America, but it was doomed to fail.

HMS Financial Inc. wrote its clients in 2004 - three years after it started business - that it was winding down due to "new banking and finance regulations" stemming from "the terrorist threat.”

Investors' demands for refunds fell on deaf ears.

The collapse has left a continuing RCMP commercial crime investigation in its wake.

Despite the fact that they sold stock to the public, HMS Financial owners Harold Stark and Robert (Colonel) Fyn did not register the enterprise with any securities commission.

They portrayed HMS Financial as a rock-solid institution that gave returns of 120 per cent to 240 per cent per year - rates of interest that, by expert opinion obtained in the police investigation, are impossible.

Fyn and Stark, both of Linden, did not return Business Edge calls for comment.

Last year, the Calgary RCMP commercial crime section raided HMS. In his search-warrant application, Garth Jesperson - an RCMP corporal at the time - alleged that the enterprise was a prime bank instrument (PBI) fraud and Ponzi scheme.

A PBI fraud, also known as a high-yield investment fraud, offers fantastic rates of return based on the yields of mythical banking instruments supposedly traded in secret markets among the world's leading banking organizations.

A Ponzi scheme is a fraud in which investors are paid impossibly high rates of interest. Word spreads like wildfire and the promoters keep the scheme afloat by using money from new investors to pay interest to the existing investors.

No criminal charges have been laid against HMS Financial and its affiliates, so the police information remains unproven.

But rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul enterprises inevitably collapse when they default on their interest payments.

Last year, Thomas Matkin, a Cardston lawyer acting for an elderly investor, tape-recorded a meeting with HMS Financial's "Colonel" Fyn, who attempted to explain how the investment achieved its extraordinary rates of return.

A transcript, attached to an affidavit that Matkin provided to the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC), shows Fyn talking about "factoring" and "London high-yield bonds" and "night trading" and "leveraging."

However, the transcripts indicate Fyn failed to connect this lexicon of trading with any credible accounting practices.

Instead, he talked about the financing of a $1,000 cow to convince the skeptical lawyer.

You have $100 and you go to the bank to borrow the remaining $900 to buy the cow, Fyn explained.

In all likelihood, the cow will have a calf. You spend $300 on feed while raising the calf. "If you have $100 invested, now you have a $900 debt," the financier said. "Well we all know that a debt is not a debt until it's due.

"Correct?" he persisted. "It's a liability. It's not a debt."

"OK," replied Matkin. "You're losin' me, but keep going."

"If you take $100 and leverage it to $1,000 which you're ... doing when you go to the bank and borrow money - because the bank's gonna give you $900 because you have $1,000.

"You're gonna buy a cow who's going to have a calf," Fyn persisted.

"Right," replied Matkin.

"You're gonna have a calf to sell at 600 bucks that only cost you $300 to get your cow. You're gonna have $300 net to expenses. Now you have $100 invested. Did you make 300 per cent ... on it?" This is about as clear as it gets. After failing to enlighten Matkin, Fyn tried other lines of persuasion.

"You've really made up your mind that this is a scam ...”

he exclaimed.

Though the investors may be poorer through their fliers in HMS Financial stock, the company managed to put tiny Linden on the map among North America's law-enforcement agencies.

First, the securities watchdog Saskatchewan Financial Services Commission did some sniffing around in 2001 when it received information that HMS was trolling for funding there.

In December that year, the SFSC issued a temporary cease-trading order and followed the order up two weeks later with an extending order - to remain in effect indefinitely - after the company did not defend itself against the commission's allegation that it was running an unregistered securities scheme.

Two years later, the Manitoba Securities Commission (MSC) got in on the act with an investor alert about two investment companies - Skyward Management Inc. and Commonwealth Marketing Group Ltd. - and two Airdrie residents alleged to be affiliated with HMS Financial.

"The first scam involves letters of credit or mid-term notes whereby individuals are being offered 12-per-cent-per-month return on their money," the alert says. "Proceeds from this transaction are being transferred to an account in Belize."

The alert goes on to say that the second investment required that investors transfer their Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) to a trust account in British Columbia. The investments in the RRSP account then were replaced with possibly worthless second mortgage properties, the MSC alleged.

"Individuals are told that a 12-per-cent annual return will be realized on mortgage property investment. In reality, they have your cash and the individual holds a potentially worthless investment."

The ASC launched a formal investigation in April, 2004, after receiving a complaint from the Cardston investor, a woman in her late 80s who invested $35,000 US with an HMS affiliate and was unable to recover her money.

The ASC issued a cease-trading order the following month and later extended it indefinitely after determining that the enterprises and their promoters had not registered with the ASC or filed a prospectus.

Both the ASC and B.C. Securities Commission forwarded their investigative files to Jesperson. The ASC chose this route (as opposed to pursuing charges on its own) because it prefers to see the police handle alleged or potential criminal matters.

The RCMP also heard from law enforcement in other jurisdictions such as the Saskatoon RCMP commercial-crime unit, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions, which had received information about these schemes from their own locales.

In my opinion, the participation of professional practices can lend such enterprises an air of legitimacy. The Law Society of Alberta has declined to comment on what action, if any, it has taken with respect to the involvement of DeWinton lawyer Garth Bailey. Bailey declined comment.

According to Jesperson's affidavit, the FBI in San Diego is investigating the abortive January 2004 transfer of $6.1 million in U.S. bank drafts payable to "Garth S. Bailey Professional Corporation" from 240 investors "for legal services rendered."

A bank manager got suspicious when all this money suddenly flowed into the account of a San Diego lawyer who operated his law practice out of his home and whose bank balance previously never exceeded $2,500.

The banker acted swiftly, freezing the funds and then calling the feds - an encouraging sign that banking institutions and law-enforcement agencies in North America are learning to co-operate in the protection of investors.

The San Diego lawyer acknowledged in an interview with a FBI agent that he made the deposit on Garth Bailey's behalf. The San Diego bank later worked with the issuing banks to return the funds to the American investors.

Cardston lawyer Matkin told Business Edge that he contacted law-enforcement authorities as soon as he saw the HMS Financial documentation.

"They offered far more money than they could ever pay," said Matkin. "The lowest I ever saw that they offered was eight per cent per month, compounded quarterly."

"That rang alarm bells for me."

According to a projection that HMS Financial gave its investors, a $5,000 investment left to compound at such a rate over six years would make the investor a lot of money - $2,714,003.85, to be exact.

Just for fun, Matkin took this one step further. According to an affidavit he filed in May, 2004 with the ASC, he calculated what a $5,000 investment - with eight per cent interest compounded quarterly - would reap the investor in 25 years.

The total return: $11,000,000,000,000,000, give or take a nickel.

To be on the safe side, the RCMP's Jesperson consulted with University of Calgary finance expert Dr. Michael Robinson for his opinion about the probability of an investment paying the kinds of interest quoted by HMS.

Such rates are not possible, the academic averred, adding that even international experts investing large sums of money on high-risk instruments could not hope to exceed a return of 20 per cent per year.

So much for quadrillions for your retirement.

(Brock Ketcham is a writer who specializes in consumer and public policy issues. He can be reached at brock@businessedge.ca)
http://www.businessedge.ca/archives/article.cfm/extraordinary-claims-should-sound-alarm-9863

The RCMP also heard from law enforcement in other jurisdictions such as the Saskatoon RCMP commercial-crime unit,